53 ON AND OFF THE A VENUE " Y OU Inay very U Ã.: ' likely wear your '7 rtÎt !:;: bathing su.it only for J' I ";"' a sunbath In the back - .. yard or on the roof this summer, and the exercise you get in your slacks may consist solely of pushing a vacuum cleaner (think of the Sunday- night traffic you'll be missing), but there's no reason you can't spend a fevl fully dressed hours a day the way you used to, and if you do there's no reason you can't look as decorative as ever. For in- stance, there are the beautiful pure silks and the masterly tailoring at Bernath, 571 Madison Avenue (56th). You have your choice of four hundred neck- tie-pattern foulards, which they wi!] make up into such classics as shirtwaist dresses with a bow at the throat, or two- piece affairs with the tops doubling as blouses for your suit. The dresses are $42.95 and up, the skirts from $21.95, the blouses from $15.95. Here, too, you'll find heavenly Paisley-patterned silks. They are fairly expensive-$29. 95 for a blouse to order-but they are things you'll wear just about forever. If you want to go really de luxe, try one of the famous bright suède jackets, in three- quarter length and lined with one of the Paisleys. The Bernath rainy-day equip- ment is also notable-double-breasted rayon taffeta coats with detachable hoods, or full capes that you can wear over winter as well as summer clothes. They are in a variety of colors; the cool, goose berry green would be particularly effective for summer. The coats and capes are $29.95, the hoods are $5.95, matching umbrellas are $ 7.95, and you can't top any of them for sheer dash. T HEN there is the array of finery in Bon wit Teller's sports depart- ment. Let's begin with the Clarepotter collection of dresses. An entire group is in a dull, flat rayon crêpe with Irish cro- chet trimming. The lace, which has black vel vet beading, edges the prim, square neck of one beige dress and fur- ther emphasizes its quaintness by making a deep oval on the bodice. This lace edges the lapels of other dresses and also frothily edges the detail of shirtwaist affairs. The dresses are lovely things, suitable for either town or country, and cost $35 and $39.95. Some dresses and blouses are made of an India cot- ton (feels like batiste but has more body) in Paisley patterns. This fabric is particularly cool and effective in a blouse FEMININE FASHIONS which has a black silk shan tung skirt with a sash of the same print pulled through loops at the waistline. Miss Potter also takes pure sIlk shantung in odd and lovely colors, like a pale sea green, and makes a dress with pearl but- tons and three bias tiers at the hem of the slightly flared skirt. (Non-Potter silk shantung dresses are shown here, too- shirtwaist ones, some with convertible necks and with pockets on the hIps, others with set-in belts; from $22.95 in colors like forest green, pale blue, and brown. ) F or bathing suits, Clarepotter shows shorts that are really short, with a back- less top buttoned down the front and shirred at each side-one of the few halter tops that are becomIng to large- bosomed women. This ensemble is made of an India plaid print, all wonderful purples and blues and blacks and reds. Miss Potter has worked rayon shark- skin up into slacks and bathing suits. Her slacks are the way I like them-slender, absolutely plain, and with pockets on the hips. Some of the bathing suits are one- piece, with skirts flaring widely; oth- ers have matter-of-fact shorts, buttoned down each side and topped with a rumed halter bodice. The bathing suits are all $25, but you get High Style. Bonwit's sports department also shows, for $ 7.95, a versatile dress 0 f rayon shantung with a convertible neck, big buttons down one side from armpit to hem, and an action back. It comes in sizes 10 to 20, and is one of those things anyone in the country would live in. M ARY LEWIS, at 638 Fifth Avenue ( 51 st), is your girl if you love dirndl skirts. The place is full of them Among the lot are wraparound Mexi- can numbers, with one huge pocket, in a denim that is all rich, dark stripes. You'll also see India cotton prints in dusty, muted colors, practically no two alike. (These are $5.95, a representa- tive price for such things here.) Quan- tities of the skirts are made of the flowered chintz you use for upholstery. There are gingham ones, too. Finally, there are some in a wildly flowered rayon-silk jersey, with a shIrred elastic ((7h\ Þ) & fD) f l u ) :2, /2, !l, f$ C Il I .-::.-:.;:::::;:;:;::::::=::::.:::::. t . L ., .. :. " J mF ^ f:': t ".,, - = :' ,. .':". . .... :; :...: ..:.::;: : . ... .- . ';: =::;0: :::: : ':":-- ... ... ...:. := .. : :- ,_ --." ".. ..... o cÁfn'\ J)CVlj ((It if an interesting g-ame. I g-uess I'll take zt "